The Way Things Came To Be
by leftiesrok
Summary: Lily's life from pre-Hogwarts to death...this story is sort of between PG-13 and R, I put it as PG-13 but please know that it contains adult themes, it is not meant to be true to the books and it is a dark fic, beware! chapter nine up! please r and r
1. Childhood in Brief

Note: This story is not meant to be true to the books. It is a darkfic and donÕt expect anything other than that.  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story isnÕt mine...it belongs to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing it.  
  
Chapter One: Childhood in Brief  
  
Lily Evans was a girl like any other, living with her mother, father, and older sister. Lily had inherited her fathers stunningly green eyes and her motherÕs soft, pale, round complexion. Her curly red hair was different from everyone elseÕs hair in the family.  
  
LilyÕs earliest years were happy and she had only fond memories of the days prior to her primary school years.   
  
Things changed when she entered kindergarten. LilyÕs father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He held on for nearly two years before things got out of hand. The entire ordeal terrified the young girl.  
  
Lily, at age eight, had been visiting her father in the hospital. He had been in a comatose state for the last few days and his body had stopped loosing fluids. He was puffed up and his skin was stretched as far as possible, the sight alone was enough to terrify Lily, and she was alone with him at the time. Her mother had gone to pick her sister Petunia, who was eleven up from a friendÕs house.   
  
John Evans, LilyÕs father, woke up and saw his baby sitting next to him. He reached one arm up for Lily and whispered, barely audibly that he loved her and her sister and her mother. Then he closed his eyes and entered the realm of the dead.  
  
Lily sat in shock not knowing what to do. She cried and held onto her DaddyÕs hand for what seemed like days until her mother and sister got there. The funeral that followed shortly after was one of the worst things in poor LilyÕs life.  
  
But things were about to get even worse. LilyÕs mom had previously been a stay at home mother, taking care of her children and working only as a philanthropist. Without the support of her husband, she had had to get a job, but he was still receiving a commission while he was being treated. The final hospital costs and funeral arrangements drained the EvansÕ account and they were left with very little.  
  
Margie Evans began to work much longer days and often Lily and Petunia were left along until well into the night. Then Margie would leave early in the morning to return to work. The girls hardly saw their mother anymore.  
  
It was made especially hard for Lily since Petunia refused to turn down this opportunity of freedom. Petunia never stayed at home with Lily, and when she did she had loud, annoying friends with her who all hated Lily because Petunia hated Lily.  
  
Lily found little solace in her friends. None of them understood how it felt to watch your parent die at such a young age, and none of them knew how to approach her.   
  
Her friends were drifting away, and she was left with nothing but books filled with magical worlds unlike anything she lived in. Places with dragons and hobbits and wizards. Books became LilyÕs life.  
  
One day little Lily, nearly nine now, began to experience something unusual. She would get bruises in places she didnÕt know were even possible. Her head, armpits, and the backs of her knees. At first she didnÕt tell anyone about what was happening to her, but all was revealed when she collapsed in school one day.   
  
Lily was rushed to the ER and many tests were run. After about two days of testing, the doctors told LilyÕs mom, who had gotten time off work to be with Lily, that Lily had leukemia.   
  
The news transformed the family of three. Margie knew she couldnÕt afford to take care of LilyÕs hospital bills and there was no one to be with Petunia during the days. Margie married quickly in order to have another source of income in the family. She married to a man named Nik Wells. Nik seemed happy to do anything possible to help Lily and Petunia. He grew very close to both of them in a very short period of time.   
  
With some strength that felt like magic, Lily was able to go into remission after a years stay in the hospital. Her homecoming on her tenth birthday was wonderful. Lily was surprised to see all of her old friends there ready and waiting to welcome her home. She cried, and so did they.   
  
Her best friend from before her dad died, Jane, spoke first voicing what all of them felt, ÒLily, we feel like we deserted you. You needed us and we didnÕt know how to help so we walked away. WeÕre sorry. We miss you and we hope you can forgive us.Ó  
  
Lily gave a soft giggly sob. She managed to squeak, ÒI missed you guys so terribly much! But I have to warn you. IÕm different now. IÕm not like I was. I have to act different, I canÕt do as much and I look different too.Ó  
  
ÒWhat do you mean you look different? You are the same radiant girl we knew two years ago!Ó  
  
ÒYes, but Jane, look,Ó and with that Lily pulled off the wig from her head.  
  
ÒThat's ok! Hey I have an idea!!! Why donÕt we all shave our heads and buy wigs together so we all have them!Ó   
  
ÒThat's a great idea Josie!Ó   
  
And that is just what they did. LilyÕs friends made her feel welcome again by shaving their heads and buying wigs.  
  
But LilyÕs troubles were still far from over. Nik seemed like a great guy. But he wasnÕt the best of the bunch. After Lily came home he started to visit her at night, while Margie was still at work, or after she was asleep. Nik would, at first just go into LilyÕs room and sit on the bed. Soon he would lie next to her. Not long after he would climb under the covers with her. Lily knew he was doing it but she wasnÕt sure if it was normal. Her daddy had been in the hospital most of the time that she could remember of him. DId dads always do things like this? She assumed so.  
  
Once Nik felt that she wasnÕt going to say anything he began molesting her. Irregularly at first, but within a month it was every night. He even raped her a few times. Lily cried a lot. What else could she do? She was afraid to tell her mom because Nik had helped them so much and it had been her fault they needed the help in the first place. Margie found a higher paying job and took it, but it involved her traveling a lot which meant that Nik would be the only adult with the girls for days and sometimes even weeks on end.   
  
Lily started crying more and Nik started to physically abuse her, but only when her mom was gone. At first Margie didnÕt notice anything. It wasnÕt until maybe five months that she noticed bruises everywhere on Lily. She asked Lily if they were from a recurrence of her leukemia. She said no and provided a story for each one. Margie wasnÕt completely convinced, but there wasnÕt a thing wrong with Petunia. Over the summer, after Lily had turned eleven and Petunia was fourteen, A letter came in the mail for Lily. A letter that answered her prayers of escape. A letter from a strange boarding school in Scotland.  
  
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I know its not great, but its just the introduction...the rest gets better and less rushed. 


	2. Getting to School

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story isnÕt mine...it belongs to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing it.  
  
Chapter Two: Getting to School  
  
Lily had always had a positive attitude, knowing that somehow things would get better one day and she would be able to get away from her troubles. When her dad died she had a hard time. But other than that she always had a positive outlook: through her cancer and the things Nik did to her and the lose and regain of her friends. And finally her escape had come.  
  
The letter had told Lily that she was invited to attend a wizarding school called Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had provided her with instructions on how to get to Diagon Alley to get her supplies, which she, her mother, Nik and Petunia had done. Well no, Petunia hadnÕt gone. Once they had reached the area of London where the entrance to the Alley was, she went off with some friends and promised to meet up with them later. She was convinced the whole thing was bogus and had told Lily as much. Nik and Margie seemed to think it was possible and they were happy to go with Lily to look for Diagon Alley. Margie felt that even if it wasnÕt real, Lily had the right to look for it after her ordeal with cancer.   
  
They had found Diagon Alley and had been able to get all of LilyÕs school supplies. She was psyched to say the least. She didnÕt have to start School as early as Petunia and she got to go away, which meant getting away from Nik. Petunia had lost no time in telling Lily how she felt about the whole thing.  
  
That night, after they had gotten back from the city, Petunia had gone into LilyÕs room.  
  
ÒSo you think youÕre special because youÕre a freak?Ó She had asked in a nasty tone of voice.  
  
ÒWhat do you mean a freak? IÕm not a freak...Ó Lily trailed off scared of PetuniaÕs menacing eyes.  
  
Petunia walked towards Lily. ÒYou are going to a freakish little magic school. All you do is cause trouble for this family. ItÕs your fault Dad died, youÕre the one who caused him to go to the hospital. WeÕd all be better off if you had died from your cancer!Ó Petunia said the last part so quietly it seemed to be especially true to Lily. Petunia then walked out of the room.  
  
As soon as she was gone, Lily let her tears out. She had killed her Daddy, it was her fault Nik had had to come live with them, she should have died.  
  
Margie heard LilyÕs sobs and came in. ÒWhatÕs wrong sweetie? Are you hurt?Ó Margie was always worried that Lily was hurt, ever since she first went to the hospital.  
  
ÒNo Mummy. But Petty is right. It is all my fault.Ó  
  
ÒWhatÕs your fault?Ó  
  
ÒThat Daddy died. I sent him to the hospital. I made him fall. I did it. I killed him,Ó Lily sobbed.  
  
ÒNo you didnÕt sweetheart. He had cancer, like you did. His body developed the problems, it had nothing to do with you.Ó  
  
ÒThen why didnÕt I die?Ó Lily looked up at her mother, needing to know what had been different with her Daddy and her.  
  
ÒYou had a different kind of cancer. Lily, Lily look at me. Would I lie to you?Ó Lily shook her head. ÒNo. ItÕs not your fault Daddy died. It wasnÕt anyoneÕs fault. It happens, everyone dies. And donÕt say that you should have died as well with your cancer. No one wanted you to die then, and no one wants you to die now. We want you to be healthy and happy.Ó  
  
Lily was still crying, but now her tears werenÕt so negative. She smiled at her mum, then reached over and gave her a great big hug.   
  
ÒGood night Lilly, sleep well.Ó  
  
ÒGÕnight, Mummy.Ó  
  
Lily got in bed feeling considerably better. She was excited about her new school and she couldnÕt wait for the morning so as to practice with her wand. She was so excited she couldnÕt fall asleep. After about two hours, her door creaked open and then clicked shut again. She sighed, she wished he would go away.  
  
Nik came over to her bed and got under the covers next to her. He didnÕt realize she was still away tonight. As he started to slip of her pajama pants she opened her eyes, and they were wet with unshed tears. She had never showed him that she was awake before, he knew that she had been on occasion, but she never had faced him, at least not when her mum was in town.   
  
ÒPlease go away,Ó She whispered. ÒPlease. If you donÕt IÕll scream. Mummy will know...Ó  
  
ÒYou scream, and IÕll kill you and your mother and Petunia too. I swear that to you.Ó  
  
LilyÕs eyes grew wide with fear. She remained quiet as he took off her pajamas and proceeded to utterly violate her. She made no noise, but couldnÕt help the tears from falling down her face. She stayed quiet for two hours while he did things to her, and then she didnÕt even make a sound for the rest of the night after he had redressed her and left the room.   
  
Lily was so scared she barely talked for the rest of the time before September eleventh. Every night Nik would come into her room. One night he told her that he didnÕt have much time before she left, so she was going to give him extra until she did leave for school.   
  
In mid August, Petunia started school and Margie went out of town on business. This meant that Nik would take time off from work to stay home with Lily during the days. Margie was gone for six days in a row on that trip.   
  
During the day, Nik would force Lily to do things. Sometimes heÕd bring over a few of his friends and make her stay still while they watched, and while they took their turns. When she moved, even the tiniest bit, heÕd hit her repeatedly.  
  
The first day he brought his friends by, she was terrified. She tried to wiggle away when he came over to strip off her clothes. HeÕd had maybe two beers before hand and he her escape attempts angered him.  
  
ÒGet back here, bitch! IÕm not done with you yet! Hell I hadnÕt even started!Ó  
  
ÒPlease, please...Ó Lily could barely speak in a whisper.  
  
Nik advanced on her and she moved back. He picked up a lamp and threw it at her. It hit her in her head and she fell. Nik walked over to her and hit her over and over again. After maybe half an hour he stopped hitting her, but she was bruised and bleeding and barely conscious. Finally he pulled her clothes off her and raped her.  
  
Nik stepped back while each of his five friends took their turns. After maybe three hours he picked her up and laid her on her bed, still undressed. Then he and his buddies left the house.  
  
Three days after that Margie came home. Lily was quieter than ever. She didnÕt move around much, it hurt too much. She was sore in her privates and she was bruised all over her body. She still bruised easily even a year after coming home from the hospital. Margie could tell something was wrong but she didnÕt know what had happened. She asked Lily over and over again, but Lily wouldnÕt say a word. She couldnÕt, her whole family would be killed.  
  
September came, and not soon enough for the terrified eleven year old red head. By the first, her spirits had once again regained hope at the thought of leaving for four months at least. Nik couldnÕt do anything to her, plus sheÕd be learning magic and would be able to defend herself even though she was much smaller and weaker than he was, it was only a matter of time.   
  
Lily didnÕt know how she did it, but soon she was on a train on her way to Scotland to go to Hogwarts. She was sitting alone and was terrified of what lay ahead of her. After a little while, the compartment door slid open and two boys asked if they could join her. She nodded.   
  
One of the two had messy black hair and hazel eyes. The other had smooth, straight black hair that fell into his brown eyes.  
  
After a few awkward, silent minutes, the boy with the messy hair spoke up, ÒIÕm Potter, James Potter.Ó  
  
Lily giggled, he sounded just like James Bond in the movies.  
  
ÒWhat? My name isnÕt as funny as his,Ó he pointed to his friend.  
  
Lily just laughed harder. ÒDid you mean to do that? Sound like James Bond I mean.Ó  
  
ÒLike who? Is that a friend of yours or something?Ó  
  
ÒNo, James Bond. You know, from the movies...Ó Lily half asked half stated.  
  
ÒWhat are movies?Ó James asked.  
  
Lily laughed at his question. But when she saw his face she stopped. ÒEr...nevermind. So whatÕs your name thatÕs so funny?Ó She asked turning to the other boy.  
  
ÒSirius.Ó  
  
ÒWhat?Ó  
  
ÒSirius Black.Ó Lily started to laugh. ÒHey donÕt do that! IÕm being totally serious, my name is Sirius! Oh! Urgh!Ó  
  
At this Lily just laughed harder and James joined in. ÒSo whatÕs your name?Ó James asked.  
  
ÒLily Evans.Ó  
  
The three of them enjoyed laughing and getting to know each other for the next hour or so. Finally another boy walked in. This boy was pale and thin. He introduced himself as Remus Lupin after which the three of them shared their names. Actually it was more like James shared his and LilyÕs names since Lily was laughing too hard to talk at all.   
  
Soon a lady came by with a cart full of candy. ÒAnything off the carts dears?Ó  
  
James said he was treating, and James Sirius and Remus all started shouting out weird names like Cauldron Cakes and Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans. Lily just sat in awe as the lady handed them tons of sweets unlike anything she had ever seen.  
  
ÒWhat are those?Ó she asked.  
  
ÒÓOh I get it! YouÕre muggle born, that's why you were going on about moobies or whatever!Ó shouted Sirius.   
  
ÒMuggle born?Ó  
  
ÒIt means from a non-magic family,Ó Remus explained.  
  
ÒOh...yeah I guess thatÕs true. IÕm muggle born.Ó  
  
A little while later, a small plump boy ran into their compartment. ÒP-please, th-theyÕre g-gunna curse me.Ó  
  
ÒWhose going to curse you? Who are you?Ó  
  
ÒP-p-peter.Ó  
  
Before Peter had a chance to say anything else, two boys walked into their compartment with their wands drawn. At the sight of them, James and Sirius stood up.  
  
ÒMalfoy, Snape. What do you want? You want us to hex you?Ó James asked, sounding, at least to Lily, way to happy at the prospect of hexing the two new boys.  
  
The shorter boy, with blonde hair, scoffed but turned and left anyway. The other boy, with dark greasy hair and a hooked nose followed him.  
  
ÒDonÕt worry Peter, we wonÕt let them get you,Ó Sirius said, spite in his voice at the thought of the other two boys.   
  
Peter stared at the three boys in the compartment, especially at James, with a look of pure worship on his face.  
  
Finally, after a few more hours, when the light outside had long since gone, a voice was heard throughout the train saying, ÒWe will be arriving in Hogsmead Station in less than five minutes, please leave your trunks and all possessions on the train to be taken to the castle separately. The boys left while Lily quickly changed into her robes, then she went out and waited for them to get changed. By the time they were done, the train was coming to a stop.  They got off the train and heard a voice yelling, ÒFirsÕ years! FirsÕ years follow me! This way. Come on now!Ó They walked towards the booming voice and it wasnÕt long before the saw a giant man, twice the size of a normal person, shouting for the first years. They followed him until they reached the edge of a lake. ÒFour ter a boat! Four ter a boat now,Ó boomed the voice. Lily, Sirius, James, and Remus got into one boat. Peter got into another with two girls and another boy. The boats magically started moving, as a fleet towards the other side of the lake.   
  
James and Sirius started to horse play, the were wrestling and all of the sudden the boat tipped over. All four of them went under the water. James and Sirius managed to get over to the boat Peter was in and squezed in with Peter and the other three students. Remus remained in the water, staying afloat but not going anywhere, he wasnÕt a very good swimmer. Lily was nowhere to be seen. Hagrid rowed his boat over to Remus and pulled him into his boat. The he asked, ÒWhere arÕ the other three from yer boat?Ó  
  
ÒJames and Sirius got into another boat, I donÕt know where Lily is.Ó  
  
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Well, a cliff hanger...I will update as soon as I get a few reviews... :P 


	3. Sorting

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story isnÕt mine...it belongs to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing it.  
  
Chapter Three: Sorting  
  
Lily was still weak from her cancer. It had barely been a year since she had gotten out of the hospital. Furthermore, she hadnÕt been swimming since before her father had died when she was eight. When the boat tipped over, she was pushed downwards from the force of the motion. She didnÕt realize what was happening at first and thus tried to scream. As she did so her mouth and lungs filled with water and she coughed making things even worse. Finally realizing that she was underwater, Lily began to try to remember what she had known years ago when she had been swimming. She kicked and flailed her arms, but couldnÕt seem to reach the surface of the air. Lily couldnÕt breathe, and she was sure she was starting to have an asthma attack.  
  
Lily had been born with asthma, but when she had gotten cancer, her lungs had weakened severely and her formerly mild asthma was now terrible. She couldnÕt do anything or go anywhere without her inhaler as she could, and probably would, have breathing troubles.  
  
Now, underwater, she began to wheeze. She knew suddenly that she wasnÕt going to be able to reach the surface of the water. Her clothes were weighing her down, and she was too weak. Lily pushed those thoughts out of her head. If she didnÕt reach the top she would never see her mother again. She would never learn to protect herself for Nik, and Petunia would be overjoyed. She began kicking towards the surface of the water again.  
  
As she was struggling, something grabbed a hold of her foot. She tried to pull her ankle out of itÕs grasp, but the hand was holding on too tightly. Her eyes started to blackout, she had gone too long without oxygen, if she didnÕt get it now, she would die. She tried fighting the force that was pulling her down, but another hand grabbed her other foot. Her lungs couldnÕt handle it, she opened her mouth desperate to try to get some oxygen into her body. All she got was more water. She couldnÕt think straight anymore, she couldnÕt see either. She kept gasping trying to get air.   
  
With a jolt, Lily knew she was drowning. She was never going to reach the surface of the water. She couldnÕt see where she was but the pressure above her was great and her ears were popping, she had to be pretty deep. Additionally, the hands around her ankles were pulling her downwards. She wasnÕt sure, since she was surrounded in water, but she thought she had started to cry. Lily was more scared now than she had ever been during her stay in the hospital.   
  
She felt something wrap around her middle. Or did she? Was there something holding onto her or was that just the pressure from not being able to breathe? She didnÕt know. Lily passed out.  
  
But something had wrapped around her stomach. It was a tentacle, and whatever creature it belonged to, started to swim towards the surface of the lake. The hands on LilyÕs feet finally let go, just as her head broke through the surface of the water. The thing holding onto her took her over to the land on the side of the lake.   
  
Above water, the fleet of boats had long since reached the land near Hogwarts. The usual ooooohhhhhhÕs and aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhÕs hadnÕt occurred as everyone had seen a boat with four kids tip over, and only three kids come back up. It was too dark for anyone to see the fourth person, and he/she was as good as dead.  
  
Once everyone had reached the school, the giant, who Remus had learned was named Hagrid, ran into the building leaving all the students watching the still water. He had come back out with an elderly man with brownish, gray hair and beard that came down past his belt buckle and half moon glasses. James, Sirius, and Remus all knew that this man was Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts.  
  
Just as Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid came back outside, the giant squid who lived in the lake surfaced. He looked kind of lopsided but no one knew why.   
  
Hagrid was telling Dumbledore as much of the story as he knew, Ò...and the poor girl hasnÕt been seen since the boat tipped over. Think sheÕs still alive?Ó  
  
ÒHey look! The giant squid is holding onto someone!Ó a student yelled.  
  
James and Sirius looked over towards the squid, who was indeed holding someone, and someone small at that.   
  
The normally lazy squid was moving very quickly, as if sensing there wasnÕt much time. It dropped Lily onto the ground and then swam, much more slowly, away.  
  
Dumbledore sternly said, ÒHagrid, I need you to lead all of the first years into the building to meet Minerva. Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin please stay here. Everyone else, I need you to hurry, the sorting should have started already, the rest of the students will be anxious.Ó  
  
Everyone did as they were told. Most of the first years were trying to catch a glimpse of Lily as they walked past. James, Sirius, and Remus all sat down onto the soft earth and stared at Lily.  
  
Dumbledore, after seeing that the students had all left, turned to Lily. He kneeled down and turned her onto her back.   
  
Lily was pale as death, her lips were tinted blue, and her hair was in a wet tangled mess with seaweed in it and it was falling into and around her face. The three boys stared at her, silently praying that she wasnÕt as she looked, dead. James and Sirius were also repenting, it had been their horse playing that had caused the boat to tip over in the first place.  
  
Dumbledore pulled out his want. He mutter some words that the three boys couldnÕt hear, and water was forced up out of LilyÕs mouth, lots of water. Then Dumbledore practically whispered, ÒEnervate.Ó Luckily it worked and seemed to bring Lily back to life, she still was really breathing but she began to open her eyes. As soon as she had done so, she started to cough again. More water, and some blood came up as she coughed, between coughs she wheezed trying desperately to get air into her lungs. LilyÕs body had begun to shake violently in an effort to warm her, and she frantically started searching the pockets of her robes.  
  
Lily pulled up a small L shaped container and fumbled to try to pull the cap off of it. Dumbledore reached down and aided her in taking the cap off, and then again with getting the container to her mouth. She pushed down on the lever at the top of the device, and tried to take a breath in. She did that about four or five times, and slowly her breathing became more normal. Her shivering, however, increased.  
  
Dumbledore waved his wand in the air, and a blanket appeared from nowhere. He wrapped it tightly around Lily and asked, ÒIs that better?Ó  
  
She nodded, still trying hard to breathe.   
  
ÒNow,Ó he said, looking from Lily to the three boys, each one in turn, ÒI need to know exactly what happened out on the lake.Ó  
  
James and Sirius started, sharing their part of the story, ÒWell, Professor, see James and I were kidding around...Ó  
  
Ò...we didnÕt mean for anything to happen...Ó  
  
Ò...but one thing led to another...Ó  
  
Ò...and before we knew it the boat was rocking as we horsed around...Ó  
  
Ò...then all of the sudden...Ó  
  
Ò...the boat tipped over...Ó  
  
Ò...we managed to get into the boat that Peter was in...Ó  
  
Ò...after resurfacing to the top of the lake.Ó  
  
Then Remus said, ÒI wasnÕt close enough to get into anyone elseÕs boat, but Hagrid rowed over and pulled me into his boat. He asked where the other students from the boat were. I saw James and Sirius get into the other boat so I told him that, but I didnÕt know what had happened to Lily. We searched the water but we couldnÕt see anyone. So we came to shore and as soon as we got here, Hagrid ran into the castle and came back with you.Ó  
  
Dumbledore looked at Lily, who was again breathing in from the L shaped container. He gave her a quizzical look, but she just shook her head. He knew she didnÕt have the energy to speak so he said, ÒVery well. All three of you need to be sorted into your houses. I expect if we hurry, we will get there before the ceremony is over. After which, I am going to have to ask the three of you to come to the hospital wing with me and Miss Evans.Ó  
  
Lily was still wheezing. The three boys helped her to her feet and practically carried her to the castle so that the four of them would make it there as fast as the Headmaster.  
  
They werenÕt too late for the ceremony, in fact they walked in just as SiriusÕ name was called.  
  
Sirius looked around until a stern young witch told him, ÒYou take a seat on the stool and put the hat over your head.Ó  
  
ÒRight, thanks.Ó  
  
After a minute or so, the hat shouted out, ÒGryffindor!Ó and Sirius stood up again and looked around once more.   
  
ÒThe table on the far right,Ó informed the stern witch.  
  
ÒRight.Ó  
  
Sirius went and took a seat with the rest of the house.  
  
After a few more names were called, the stern looking woman called out, ÒEvans, Lily.Ó  
  
Lily, still shaking and wheezing slightly, with the blanket still wrapped tightly around her, walked up and put the hat on her head.  
  
ÒHmmm letÕs see...Ó the hat said to her. Wait, the hat was talking to her? Lily was too tired to think about it so she just accepted it. ÓPlenty smart I see, great for Ravenclaw. Very loyal, just like a Hufflepuff. But there is something else. YouÕve undergone more than most your age. You have courage for sure. After everything youÕve been through. Yes, its the most prevalent. YouÕd be best in GRYFFINDOR!Ó The hat shouted the last part to the whole school. Lily got up, shaking even harder now and walked towards Sirius. The hat had known about her past. Would anyone else? Did they already? She sunk in a chair next to Sirius and watched the sorting, her wheezing heavier now, than it had been before she put the hat on. She again took a breath from the L shaped container, though she was careful to make sure no one else saw.  
  
The sorting continued. The first years were sent to four different tables, according to what the hat yelled out while they had it on. The students who were labeled as Slytherin went to sit on the far left. The ones called Huffelpuff sat in the middle left. Ravenclaw was in the middle right, and Gryffindor got the far right. Remus became another Gryffindor. A little while later Peter did too. Two people after Peter, James was also sent to the table on the far right.   
  
After the last student was sorted (Zimbale, Joseph-Huffelpuff), Dumbledore stood and said, ÒWelcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we eat, Merphis Batswollop Roldufeus Grensplien. Tuck in! Oh and would the students I talked to earlier, please follow me.Ó  
  
Sirius, James, and Remus, once again helped Lily as they all left the Great Hall. Dumbledore looked at Lily and asked, ÒAre you up to a little walk?Ó  
  
Lily shook her head.  
  
ÒI figured that would be the case, all right then,Ó he said something Lily didnÕt understand, but out of nowhere, a stretcher appeared. He offered her his hand to get on. She sat on it instead of laying down, she hated feeling like a complete invalid.   
  
The Professor, the three boys, and Lily on the stretched went up and down and around and around until they came to a room which appeared to be like a mini hospital.  ÒPoppy!Ó Dumbledore called out.  
  
A young nurse came out of the office on the right. She muttered and tutted a lot as she helped the cold, wet, wheezing Lily into a bed. ÒWhat happened Headmaster?Ó  
  
ÒThere was an episode in the boats on the way to the school. Miss Evans here doesnÕt appear to be a very strong swimmer. Needless to say, she nearly drowned. I think she will have to stay the night in here. She will need some serious warming potions and something to help her breathing as well. As for the other three, I expect they should stay as well, that water is deathly cold and they should be warmed up also. And here,Ó he waved his wand and four plates appeared, ÓtheyÕll be needing something to eat.Ó The plates filled, each with a different type of food.  
  
Dumbledore turned and walked out of the room. ÒIÕm Madame Pomfrey. All four of you need to take a seat on a bed. NOW!Ó  
  
They scurried to get beds, well more like the boys scurried and Lily happily accepted Madame PomfreyÕs help to the nearest bed. Madame Pomfrey made sure they all had plenty to eat. She didnÕt make Lily eat, knowing that the experience Lily had would not have left her very hungry. She then bustled around giving all of them potions. Two for each of the boys, four for Lily, and a drying spell for each of them. ÒThere, thatÕs better isnÕt it? Now you all lie down and get some rest. IÕll be in in the morning to see how you are doing.Ó  
  
After she left James and Sirius and Remus all got up and went to sit by Lily.  
  
ÒAre you okay?Ó began James.  
  
ÒWe didnÕt mean for the boat to tip over,Ó Sirius added.  
  
ÒThat was really scary,Ó said Remus.  
  
ÒI didnÕt know you had trouble swimming,Ó Sirius said.  
  
ÒAre you okay?Ó repeated James.  
  
ÒMan am I sorry,Ó Sirius again.  
  
Lily grew pale. ÒIÕm okay, cough cough really. I used wheeze to be a very good wheeze swimmer, I just wheeze havenÕt been swimming wheeze for three or four years. Wheeze, wheeze I just need to get some wheeze sleep,Ó Lily said, trying not only to convince them but also herself. She still felt like she was drowning even though she was above water. She pulled out the L shaped container again and took a few gasps while pushing the lever on the top of it. She had never gotten used to having asthma attacks, even though they had been happening her whole life, especially within the last two years.  
  
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Okay, there is a little more for you. Please review! Your input means a lot to me!!! And I know I didnÕt wait until I had reviews, but I am just trying to encourage you to read it!! Please review... 


	4. A Big Mess

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story isnÕt mine...it belongs to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing it.  
  
Chapter Four: A Big Mess  
  
The three boys all nodded in agreement. Lily did need rest.  
  
ÒWell, wheeze are you just wheeze going to stand there? Or wheeze are you going to wheeze let me sleep?Ó  
  
ÒOh right! WeÕll get back to our own beds. Sleep well, Lily Evans.Ó  
  
ÒYeah, James is right. We will go back to our beds...Ó  
  
ÒSirius...Ó  
  
ÒYeah?Ó  
  
ÒYouÕre a dork.Ó  
  
ÒThanks James!Ó  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and tried to get in a position where she could sleep. She knew that she had to keep herself propped up so her lungs wouldnÕt have to work as hard. But the night was spent dozing and waking up unable to breathe, and then finally dozing some more, over and over again. She woke up the next morning completely unrested. As she woke, she heard Madame Pomfrey shooing the three boys out.   
  
ÒYouÕre fine. You are all fine. I need you to go get breakfast, and Miss Evans will join you once I have seen that she is fine as well. Out NOW!Ó  
  
ÒAll right, all right, weÕre going,Ó Remus said, although reluctantly.  
  
Lily heard James and Sirius murmur agreement and their voices died down as they set off in search of the Great Hall.  
  
Madame Pomfrey turned around and bustled over towards her. ÒAll right dear. How are you feeling?Ó  
  
ÒItÕs still wheeze hard for me wheeze to breathe...Ó  
  
ÒHmmmm....can I get youÕre medical history? Any problems I should know about?Ó  
  
ÒYeah, wheeze I have asthma.Ó Lily took another puff of medicine from the L shaped container. Then Madame Pomfrey snatched it away. She looked closely at it and tutted.  
  
ÒI think youÕre nearly out dear. IÕm going to charm it so it will never empty. However, if and when you have more serious problems, like you are now, youÕll need to come here where I can give you stronger medicine. You see, when it comes to these like asthma, wizards are no better at curing them, but we have much quicker medications that will allow you to breathe normally in much less time.Ó With this she went back into her office. After a few minutes she came out holding a bottle. ÒAll right, dear. You need to drink this,Ó Madame Pomfrey told Lily as she poured the liquid into a glass. It turned out that the liquid was a bright green thick substance.  
  
ÒEwwww, do I wheeze have to? wheezeÓ  
  
ÒYes dear. Come on now. I promise it will make you feel better.Ó  
  
Lily reluctantly took the glass and drowned it of its contents. She gagged, thinking, that stuff is gross. But as soon as the liquid had made its way down her throat, her breathing became easier. ÒWow, disgusting as that is, it does work wonders.Ó  
  
ÒThat's right, dear. Now is there any other medical history I should know about?Ó asked Madame Pomfrey eyeing Lily closely.  
  
Lily had gotten used to lying, though. ÒEr....no I donÕt think so. Well, I did have leukemia two years ago. IÕve been in remission for a year and a week. But thatÕs it.Ó  
  
ÒAre those bruises a recurrence of the cancer?Ó  
  
LilyÕs insides churned, though she showed no evidence of a change in emotion on the outside. ÒNo, I got them all yesterday. Things kept grabbing me underwater, and IÕm pretty sure I hit the boat we had been in once or twice as well.Ó  
  
ÒAll right,Ó Madame Pomfrey watched Lily closely, Òbut if you do have a reoccurrence, you need to let me know. In the wizarding world, treatment for cancer is much like it is in the muggle world, and you would need to be sent to St. MungoÕs immediately.Ó  
  
Lily nodded. ÒWell, can I go then?Ó  
  
ÒYes. Remember if you have any problems donÕt hesitate to come back.Ó  
  
ÒOkay.Ó With that Lily hurried off after James, Sirius, and Remus. It took her nearly twenty minutes to find the Great Hall, but she managed to do it, and when she got there, she saw the four boys who she had met on the train sitting together eating breakfast. ÒHello,Ó she said as she joined them.  
  
ÒHey.Ó  
  
H-hi.Ó  
  
ÒHow are you feeling?Ó  
  
ÒWeÕre sorry!Ó  
  
ÒNo, its okay. IÕm all right now. Honestly. So are these our schedules?Ó  
  
ÒYeah, Jamesie here doesnÕt want to go to any of his first day classes. Says heÕs gunna skip!Ó  
  
ÒSirius?Ó  
  
ÒYessss?Ó  
  
ÒFor once in your life, shut up.Ó  
  
Lily giggled and filled her plate with scrambled eggs and bacon.  
  
After breakfast, the five of them headed off in search of their first class. Transfiguration. When they finally found it, just before the bell rang, they were surprised to see the stern woman from the sorting.  
  
ÒHello class. I am Professor McGonagall. I suggest,Ó she eyed James and Sirius, Òthat you take youÕre seats quickly. Know now that this is not a class to fool around in. Misbehavior will cause your house to loose points. And being the head of Gryffindor house, I expect that you do not need to be told to behave appropriately. If you take this class seriously, you will learn to achieve great things, and maybe after you leave Hogwarts, you will learn one of the most challenging aspects of transfiguration, becoming animagi.Ó At those words the Professor turned into a cat with square glasses just like her own, looked around, and then turned back into a human. The transformation was greeted with many ohhhhÕs and ahhhhhÕs.   
  
During that class all they did was take notes about all the things they would be learning in the year to come, and then Professor McGonagall assigned them to write a two scroll paper on the techniques needed to turn a match into a pin, without trying it, due at the beginning of their next lesson on Thursday.  
  
The day continued on like that and by dinner everyone was exhausted. All the first years had spent the entire day running around trying to find their next class, then coming out of it with lots of work and without any clue as to where they were.   
  
ÒAll right, now I am being serious!Ó  
  
ÒReally, I though you already were Sirius, who were you before?Ó  
  
ÒJames! That joke got old hours ago!Ó  
  
ÒOh, does Queen Bee Evans want me to stop?Ó  
  
ÒYes, you nitwit!Ó  
  
ÒOh, I am going to get you for that! I am so going to get you for that!Ó  
  
Lily laughed and started to eat her mashed potatoes. James looked down and a thought came to him. He turned to Sirius who was next to him and whispered, ÒYou know what mashed potatoes are bloody brilliant for?Ó  
  
ÒMmmming?Ó  
  
ÒBesides eating...Ó  
  
Sirius swallowed then replied, ÒI dunno, what?Ó  
  
ÒFood fights!Ó James whispered excitedly as he grabbed a handful and molded it into a lumpy ball.  
  
ÒSo what was it that you were going to tell us anyway, Sirius? What was making you so-Ó  
  
SPLAT  
  
The mashed potatoes landed right in LilyÕs face. ÒBloody he...JAMES POTTER! YOU ARE SO GOING TO GET IT FOR THAT!Ó Lily scooped up some spaghetti from RemusÕs plate with her spoon and flung it at James, catapult style.   
  
Sirius cracked up at the sight of James with spaghetti in his hair and sauce dripping down his face.  
  
ÒQuit laughing Black. IÕm warning you!Ó Before Sirius realized what was happening James had poured his goblet of Pumpkin Juice down SiriusÕs back. In retaliation Sirius threw half of an orange at Remus, who ducked. The orange hit a Hufflepuff, who in turn threw mac and cheese at the Slytherins. In a matter of minutes the entire Great Hall, save for the High Table, was throwing food in a complete and utter food fight.  
  
At the High Table, Dumbledore laughed with amusement as he watched the students cover themselves in food. ÒQuite a sight, isnÕt it Minerva?Ó  
  
ÒArenÕt you going to stop them Albus?Ó  
  
ÒOh the group that started it will be punished, donÕt worry. But I see no harm in letting them have their fun do you?Ó  
  
ÒI think itÕs disgraceful students shouldnÕt-Ó  
  
McGonagall stopped as her face became covered in pudding. ÒLighted up Minerva,Ó said Dumbledore as he wiped his pudding covered hand on his napkin.   
  
After that the teachers joined in the fun. Once the entire Great Hall was completely covered in a mix of dinner specialties, Dumbledore stood up and said, ÓNow that we have had our fun, I need those who started the food fight to come up here. If no one confesses, the entire school will have to clean the Great Hall without magic.Ó  
  
Lily pushed James, ÒThis was youÕre doing! Get up there!Ó  
  
ÒNo way, it was Sirius who hit the Hufflepuff.Ó  
  
ÒHey, It wasnÕt me! It was that git of a Hufflepuff who hit the Slytherin who hit the Ravenclaw who yelled FOOD FIGHT!Ó  
  
ÒWell, I know that it wasnÕt me, or Remus or Peter, so one of the two of you had better get up there or the whole school is going to have to clean!Ó  
  
No one moved. ÒVery well then, lets get to work!Ó Dumbledore also started to clean. He looked at the other Professors and said, ÒWe all took part in it, so we will all help to clean it.Ó   
  
With all of them working together to clean the Great Hall, it only took about fifteen minutes to undo maybe an hourÕs worth of damage. However, that didnÕt mean that the students and teachers were cleaned up.  
  
Everyone went up to their common rooms and there was a mad scurry to get to the bathrooms. Some students even cleaned themselves up in bathrooms around the school, that held toilets and sinks only.   
  
Lily giggled all the way up to Gryffindor common room. She continued up to her dorm and went into the bathroom. She was surprised at how fast she had gotten up there, having never been up there before. Luckily first year had been written in gold on the door, and she knew it was the girlsÕ because girls kept running up and down the stairs.  
  
Lily cleaned herself up. She was the first first year up there so she took a very fast shower. She got out and hoped onto the bed that hadnÕt been used. Her trunk was at the edge of it and she figured she ought to start unpacking. She did so, through fits of giggles, and finally the rest of the girls who shared her dorm trickled in.  
  
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Okay, there is another chapter, a little more uplifting too. Thank you sooo much to those of you who reviewed...please keep reviewing...I wonÕt post if I donÕt get reviews...good or bad just say what you think... All right sorry, I am done lecturing... 


	5. Making Friends

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story arenÕt mine...they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
Chapter Five: Making Friends  
  
Seven other girls filtered into the room and took their turns in the bathroom. Finally, just as Lily was putting the last of her clothes into her dresser, the last girl emerged from the bathroom once again clean.  
  
ÒHey, so where were you last night?Ó asked a girl with long brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes.  
  
Lily looked around and realized that it was she who was being addressed. ÒOh, er, I was in the Hospital Wing.Ó  
  
ÒOh. Oh my gosh! Were you the fourth person in the boat that tipped over?Ó asked another girl, this one with sandy blonde hair and hazel blue eyes.  
  
ÒYeah, IÕm Lily by the way, Lily Evans.Ó  
  
ÒOh wow. So are you okay? IÕm Jill Thaser,Ó said the sandy haired, blue eyed girl.  
  
ÒYeah, IÕm fine now.Ó  
  
ÒWas it scary? No one could see where you were. We all thought you had drowned.Ó  
  
ÒYeah, it was, whatÕs your name?Ó  
  
ÒI guess we should do introductions first, huh? Well, IÕm Mandy Kenny,Ó this was said by the girl with long brown hair and chocolate eyes.  
  
ÒMy name is Cece Carrins,Ó said a girl with short, straight, black hair that was cut in a choppy bob. It was very cute and framed her oval face well. Her black eyes and smooth chocolate skin made her entire appearance one to turn the heads of boys even at the age of eleven.  
  
A girl with strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes quietly supplied, ÒHannah Green.Ó  
  
ÒEmily White,Ó was the response of a girl with brown hair that was curled into long ringlets down her back. Along with her pale complexion and her dazzlingly blue eyes, she looked like a porcelain doll.   
  
ÒElizabeth Mornington, call me Lizzy.Ó Lizzy had blonde wavy hair and gray eyes.  
  
ÒKira Beckavar.Ó Kira had needle sharp black eyes, but they were full of spice Her head was topped with black hair with natural silver and red streaks throughout it, and it was pulled into a tight pony high up on her head. ÒSo, what happened?Ó  
  
ÒThe boat tipped over and I was pushed down. I havenÕt gone swimming in over three years and I hadnÕt realized what happened. I screamed and then coughed and was met with water. Something grabbed a hold of me and pulled me under. Then the giant squid grabbed me and I passed out. I guess I would have drowned if the squid hadnÕt gotten me. Then Professor Dumbledore helped me wake up and Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, fixed me up. ThatÕs it really, nothing exciting.Ó  
  
ÒLast night at the feast everyone was talking about, even the students in the other years. And then in the common room last night, everyone was talking about it again,Ó Mandy shared with high enthusiasm.   
  
ÒYeah, everyone saw that you had survived and so now youÕre like, famous throughout all of the house,Ó said Jill with a hint of a smile on her face.  
  
ÒOh,Ó Lily shifted uncomfortably, Òso...Ó  
  
Cece noticed how uncomfortable Lily was with the discussion so she changed the topic, ÒHey, I have an idea! Since none of us know each other very well, how about a game of truth or dare? We can get to know each other better and have some fun too!Ó  
  
ÒSounds great!Ó  
  
ÒIÕm up for it.Ó  
  
ÒAll right,Ó said Kira with a mischievous smile.  
  
Hannah nodded in agreement, and Lizzy said, ÒCertainly sounds like a good get to know each other idea.Ó  
  
ÒLily? Are you in?Ó asked Cece.  
  
ÒEr...sure...I guess,Ó but in all honestly Lily was scared. How much would she have to reveal?  
  
The game got started with a few boring truths. Lily learned that she was the youngest in the dorm, with her birthday in the last week of August, and that all of the other girls had siblings. Cece, Kira, and Jill were all pure blooded wizards, Mandy, Lizzy and Hannah had partially wizard blood, and she and Emily were both muggle born.  
  
Finally, Kira asked Lily, ÒTruth or Dare?Ó  
  
Lily was getting bored of all the truths so she replied, ÒDare.Ó  
  
The girls all squealed. ÒOkay,Ó said Kira her eyes beginning to gleam again, ÒI dare you to...pull of all your clothes and streak through the common room!Ó  
  
ÒNuh huh! No way! I AM NOT DOING THAT!Ó  
  
ÒFine, go down to your undershirt and underwear and do it!!!Ó  
  
ÒOhh, come on...do I have to?Ó  
  
ÒYes, you asked for a dare. Or are you too chicken?Ó  
  
Lily turned bright red and glared at Kira, ÒFINE, but IÕll get you back for this!Ó She then took off all her clothes except for her camisole undershirt and her panties. Then, before anyone could make any comments, she rushed out of the room and ran down the stairs. All the other girls quickly followed.  
  
She raced through the common room at break neck speed, giggling the whole way. It was so fast no one could really tell what was going on, they just saw someone with red hair run around in very little and then disappear.   
  
Lily ran back up to her dorm and pulled her pajamas on. She then grabbed her inhaler and took a few puffs as she tried to regain her breath.  
  
All the other girls came back in giggling like mad. Lily threw her inhaler into her night stand drawer so that the other girls wouldnÕt know she needed it.  
  
ÒWow that was awesome! Did you see there faces?Ó  
  
ÒThose seventh years sure thought it was funny.Ó  
  
ÒYouÕre right Jill, those four boys thought so too!Ó  
  
ÒWhat boys, Cece?Ó  
  
ÒI dunno their names. Four of the first year boys.Ó  
  
Lily grew pale. Then she laughed, and all the other girls joined in. Lily coughed a little.  
  
ÒOh thatÕs right, itÕs LilyÕs turn to ask,Ó said Kira, with a purpose.  
  
ÒOk, er, Emily, truth or dare?Ó  
  
ÒDare.Ó  
  
ÒI dare you to calmly go down into the common room and then all of the sudden start yelling and screaming in gibberish until everyone is watching and trying to help and then just calmly walk back upstairs like nothing happened.Ó  
  
ÒOkay...Ó Emily walked down into the common room and sat down. After a few minutes had passed she jumped up and started screaming, ÒWHAT THE HECK WAS THAT? I DONÕT WANT SOME CRAZED MICROWAVE FLYING AT ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! I DONÕT WANT THE TELEVISION TO BURST INTO JELL-O ON MY FACE! I CANÕT HANDLE THE CHANDELIER FALLING THROUGH SPACE! AND WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SPUTNIK? IS IT STILL UP THERE? OR DID IT MAGICALLY FALL OUT OF THE GALAXY? AND WHO THE HECK IS MICHAEL JACKSON? HE JUST APPEARS OUT OF NO WHERE AND SINGS HIS LITTLE HEART OUT AND THE GIRLS ALL FALL FOR HIM? WHAT AN OVEN!Ó   
  
By that time everyone in the common room was staring at her. She jumped onto the table and started to dance like Elvis, though only the muggle borns knew this, and it was only the muggle borns who thought it was funny. Everyone else seemed to think that Emily was thoroughly crazed. A fifth year prefect named Henry Patil walked over to Emily and tried to pull her down. This just sent her into another craze.  
  
ÒI WISH WE ALL COULD BE CALIFORNIA GIRLS! YOU AINÕT NOTTINÕ BUT A HOUUUUND DOOOG CRYING ALL THE TIME! YOU AINÕT NO FRIEND OÕ MINE! THE GREAT WAR HAS COME! THE WAR TO END ALL WARS! ITS OVER AND THE SECOND GREAT WAR CAME! AND THAT DIDNÕT END ALL WARS EITHER! MUHHHAHHHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHO SAW THE LAST DISNEY MOVIE? PINOCCHIO WAS MY FAVORITE! BLOODY LOOK AT THE TIME! LOOKS LIKE ITS TIME FOR COMPUTER GAMES!Ó Emily then came down from the table, the crazed look in her eyes gone. Surpressing giggles she looked around with fake curiosity. ÒWhatÕs going on? Anyone? Okay then, goodnight!Ó and with that she walked back upstairs and as soon as the dorm room was open she fell into a fit of giggles.   
  
The other girls raced up after her and they all fell onto the floor or the nearby beds, laughing their heads off.   
  
Hannah was the first to calm down and once she did she said, ÒItÕs been fun but I think we should get started on all that homework now. ItÕs getting late.Ó  
  
ÒHannahÕs right,Ó Lily wheezed, she hadnÕt pulled her inhaler out again because she was afraid of the reaction from the other girls but she needed to stop laughing, she was having a lot of trouble breathing, Òwe do have a lot of work to do.Ó  
  
ÒYeah.Ó  
  
ÒOkay.Ó  
  
They all went to their own beds and worked on some homework. As the night drew on, the lights in their room started going off. First Mandy turned hers off, then Cece, then Jill, then Kira, then Emily, then Lizzy. Around eleven or so Hannah turned off her light and went to sleep. Lily stayed awake though. Listening intently to the girls in her room. Once she was sure they were all asleep, she began to cry. She wasnÕt positive why she was crying but she knew she was overwhelmed.  
  
Lily pulled out a purple diary with stars on the cover. Embroidered on the top were the letters L. E. She flipped to the first blank page and began to write:  
  
I donÕt understand why I am so upset. I shouldnÕt be crying.   
I just made seven new friends in addition to the four I made yesterday.   
None of them know my background or history and so I know they   
arenÕt my friend because they feel sorry for me. IÕve gotten away   
from Nik for the next four months!!!!!!! I donÕt have to deal with Petty!!!!   
And itÕs looking like I am going to be a pretty popular person at this   
school. So why am I crying?!? It sort of hurts just to feel this good...   
Plus, Madame Pomfrey knows a way to get my asthma attacks to   
stop almost immediately! I donÕt know, maybe its just too much good   
all at once.   
  
Much Love,  
Lily   
  
Lily closed the book, put a little key into the hole on the side and locked it, then stuffed it underneath her school stuff in the bottom drawer of her night stand. Then Lily snuggled down and gently cried herself to sleep. Her tears mixed with sadness and happiness. 


	6. Transitions

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story aren't mine...they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
Chapter Six: Transitions  
  
Time passed on. Lily got settled into her new life at Hogwarts and she made fast friends with all the girls. The girls had also made friends with four of the Gryffindor boys: James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter-who were already best friends. Before anyone realized that it had happened, October had come and Halloween was only a few days away.  
  
Lily woke with a start. She was covered in cold water and she couldn't breathe. At first she thought she was drowning again. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was lying in bed and the water was just a cold sweat. She sat up and grabbed her inhaler. She took it and tried desperately to remember what her nightmare had been about. It wasn't the first one she had like that, where she woke up thinking she was drowning again. Even as the time passed she couldn't get over the fear she felt when the boat had tipped over. In fact, she refused to join any of her friends when they went out to the lake.   
  
No matter how hard she tried, Lily couldn't remember what the dream had been about. She never seemed able to. She rolled over and sleeplessly looked at her clock. 2:52. ÔGrand,' she thought. ÔWell, there is no way I am going to get back to sleep after that nightmare, literally. I might as well get up.' She rolled out of bed and walked into the bathroom. After she felt sufficiently ready, she went down to the common room so she wouldn't disturb her dorm mates. ÔMight as well write mum.  
  
Half an hour later, Lily looked down at her letter and smiled. Perfect! She reread it once again just to be sure it was right:  
  
Dear Mum,  
How are you? How are things at home? I'm sorry that it has taken me  
so long to write back to you, but school has really picked up. I have never had  
to work this hard in my life! Primary school was such a breeze. Oh, well, at least  
I am having the best time ever here! Yesterday we worked on a new charm (levitating). It's not too hard but in a way it is complex. You have to get the   
arm movement and the pronunciation just right in order for you to get it to work   
properly. And heaven knows you have to be careful. Professor Flitwick said   
that if you pronounce it too badly you could end up with a bull sitting on top of   
you or something! Anyway, so I have made lots of friends here already. I told  
you about the boys from the train and the girls in my dorm right? Well, James,  
Sirius, Peter, and Remus are getting so close. They have created so much   
trouble as well. They pull at least one prank a day. And Kira is the craziest girl I  
have ever met. All the girls are terrific. Hey, you should really send me Daddy's   
old English-Latin dictionary. Most of the spells and other such words are latin or   
have latin origins and I thought that having it handy would be a really great asset   
to my learning. Tell Petunia I said hi, that is if she wants anything to do with me.   
Also tell Nik that I say hello.   
Much love,  
Lily  
  
Feeling satisfied with the letter, Lily returned to her dorm and stuffed it away until a time when she could take it to the owlery to mail. Finally, sleep engulfed her and she did not reawaken until the other girls in her dorm were up and about. In fact, Lily almost over sleept.  
  
Kira had woken up around seven or so, usually Lily was just getting out of the bathroom at that time. But Lily seemed to still be in bed. Kira laughed to herself, Lily never slept past 6:30 on a school day. Kira went into the bathroom and took her shower, when she came out twenty minutes later, Cece, Emily, and Mandy were all up. Lizzy, being the laziest of the first year girls, was of course still out cold. Jill was just beginning to awaken; Hannah was sitting up in her bed but she was most certainly not yet awake. Lily was still out cold.  
  
After all the rest of her dorm mates were ready to go down to the Great Hall, Kira finally decided to wake Lily up in the rudest of ways. She ran into the bathroom and filled a bucket full of icy cold water. Then she carried it into the bedroom and gave it to Cece who held it over Lily's head. As Cece held it, Kira muttered the levitating charm that they had learned the day before in charms. Cece ran back towards Kira who was standing by the door. The two girls counted together, and on three Kira performed a trick she had found in her charms book which tipped the object upside down and then tossed it off to the side-whichever way the wizard pointed their wand. Kira did this and the icy cold water fell directly onto Lily's head, followed very abruptly by a loud clatter and then the slamming of the door as Kira and Cece ran out. Lily screamed.   
  
That evening, Lily was still in a bad mood. Kira and Cece had been avoiding her all day, knowing that if she got close to them they would end up with something more than a tongue lashing. Finally, Lily, remembering her letter, decided to go to the owlry then to go to bed early so she wasn't in such a bad mood, she didn't really like it but she couldn't stop it either.  
  
It took Lily about an hour to finally fall asleep. Soon after falling asleep, she was once again having a nightmare. But somehow she knew that this time she would remember it. She started tossing and turning. Eventually she started to fight something that couldn't be seen. She was mumbling incoherently. Then, after what seemed like eternity, Lily Evans screamed for the second time that day. 


	7. Pumpkins

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story aren't mine...they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
(A/N I don't know how Halloween is celebrated in Great Britain so I just used American (U.S.) traditions instead)  
  
Chapter Seven: Pumpkins  
  
"Drop it already, Kira!" Lily yelled for the eighth time that day. "I already told you, it was just a nightmare, okay?"   
  
"Okay, okay, I just want to help is all, gosh," Kira harumphed while folding her arms across her chest.  
  
"Oh, come on, Kira, you aren't really going to get mad at me now are you?"   
  
Kira just turned her back. "FINE THEN!" shouted Lily. "I'm going to go find the guys."   
  
Lily walked down to the Great Hall, and sure enough, sitting in their usual spots were Sirius, James, Remus and Peter. As she neared the table she heard squealing, the kind usually received when talking to a three year old girl.  
  
"Oh! It's HALLOWEEN! That means PUMPKINS!!!!"   
  
"Come off it, Sirius, you need to learn how to act maturely."   
  
"LILY! But Lily, its HALLOWEEN! That means PUMPKINS!!"   
  
"Yes, yes it does."   
  
Remus shook his head and turned to Lily, "He's been like this since six o'clock a. m. WHO bloody wakes up at six a. m. on a Saturday? He's mad, I'm sure of it this time, he's mad."   
  
"Calm down, mate," soothed James, "Sirius just has a thing with pumpkins because they're orange."   
  
"I'm not even going to ask."   
  
"Lily," explained James in a voice that one would use when trying to explain to a child why one and one make two, "Orange is Sirius' favorite color this week and anything that's orange will excite him until he moves on to another color."   
  
"Great !"   
  
"H-h-h-ha-ha-ha s-sarc-casm."   
  
"Peter sure is brilliant," James whispered to Remus who responded with a mere chuckle.  
  
Lily settled down into her chair and sank deep into her thoughts. She was once again thinking about her dream and she couldn't seem to get away from it. During the day it haunted her and at night it kept coming back, she didn't know what to do. She tried once again to clear her mind, she couldn't let Kira find out what the dream was about, it would spill all of her secrets. But on the other hand, if she had the dream again...  
  
Lily shook her head. She was through thinking about it, she'd just ignore the entire thing, skip sleeping for a few nights, and everything would be fine. She finally let a small smile creep up over her face.  
  
"EARTH TO LILY!!!"   
  
Lily looked curiously over at James, "Pardon?"   
  
"Remus has only asked you fifty times-"   
  
"How do muggles celebrate Halloween?"   
  
"Are there PUMPKINS???? "   
  
Lily giggled, "Yes, Sirius there are pumpkins. It's really fun actually. All the kids dress up in costumes and they go from house to house and say Ôtrick or treat' and the adults in the houses give them candy."   
  
"I WANNA DO IT I WANNA DO IT!!!"   
  
"Oh just shut the bloody hell up Sirius!"   
  
"James," Sirius said sounding hurt, "I thought you were my friend, my buddy, my pal-"   
  
"I am but I won't be for long if you don't shut it!"   
  
Lily giggled. Kira finally came over, it had only been three quarters of an hour since she and Lily had had their argument.  
  
"Can I talk to you?" Kira asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah." Lily stood up and followed Kira up to the dorm. "Listen I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you, its just I don't really want to talk about the dream I had okay?"   
  
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have been so nosy and I also shouldn't have gotten so upset when you didn't tell me. The only reason I asked is because you're my best friend and I don't want something to be bothering you. You know you can tell me anything. I'm here for you and I just want to help you to be your absolute happiest."   
  
"Likewise," Lily said in barely a whisper.  
  
"Well, in that case, I want to be honest with you. There is some stuff that I haven't really told anyone about, but as my best friend you should know." Lily eyed Kira trying to guess what in the world it could be. Was it anything like her secrets? Was it something worse?   
  
Kira stifled a sob and then began. "When I was seven my older brother Robby who was nine and I decided to go play outside. It was the day before Christmas and there was tons of snow on the ground. So much that we had to have our mom conjure us some snowshoes so we could go play outside. We didn't realize how cold it was until we were well into the woods outside our house. Robby said he wanted to go back. He said that he didn't feel well and that the cold air was making it hard for him to breathe. I told him that the snow was perfect and there was no way I would turn around. ÔNever leave your sister alone.' My mom had told that to Robby the day he turned eight. She said that until I was ten he was never aloud to leave me alone. So grudgingly he agreed to stay out for a while and play with me. We had a great time, but after half an hour or so he said we should go back. I refused again. Told him he could go back on his own if he wanted but I wasn't tired yet. He said he'd stay and didn't ask to leave again, but I could tell he didn't want to be there. After a while he stopped playing and just waited for me to finish. I played for over an hour after he stopped playing, just to spite him and show him I wasn't afraid of the cold. We finally went home and once we got inside he started complaining again about not feeling well."   
  
Kira paused at that point to compose herself before continuing. Lily was staring at her with complete and utter patience waiting for her to be able to continue.  
  
"So my mom feels his forehead and says he's running a high fever so she sent him to bed. I felt really badly but there was no way I was going to tell him that I should have gone back earlier with him. A few days went by and he just got worse. Mom finally took him to St. Mungos and the healers told her he had pneumonia and that we'd just have to wait it out cause he was unresponsive to all the spells and potions they tried. That was when my mom realized that he truly was a squib. She took him to a muggle hospital and they gave him some medicine and told my mom that he needed to stay in bed until he was 100 percent better. My mom stayed right by his bed side every day. Sometimes I'd sit with him, too. But sometimes I would go off and play with my friends. One day a little over three weeks after he had gotten sick I came home to find my mom crying. Robby...Robby wasn't m-moving or anything." Kira stopped again and wiped the tears from her face. She took a few calming breaths and started again, "My mom told me what had happened. He had died. Right before he had given up he had told my mom that he loved her and then he said the same thing to my younger brother and asked my mom to tell my dad he loved him. Then he told Rikky that he had to look after me cause I'm a girl and someday there would be guys who would try to do things to do me and he would have to protect me. T-t-then my m-mom told me that h-he had told her to tell me that I w-w-was the best sister a-anyone could have and that he was lucky t-to have had me as long as he d-did. He said that even i-if he w-wasn't there any-anymore I'd s-still always b-be his ÔCh-cheeky Kiki S-sister'. God I m-miss him so much. And it's my fault, Lily, it's all my fault." Kira burst into tears.  
  
It took Lily a few seconds to process everything. She engulfed Kira in a huge hug and patted her back. "Kira. Kira, you have to listen to me okay?" Kira nodded. "It's not your fault-"   
  
"Yes it is, Lily! If I hadn't have made him stay out, he'd have been fine!"   
  
"NO! Kira, listen to me! It may feel like it but its not your fault. He was sick, he would have been sick even if you guys hadn't gone out to play. You said he had said he felt icky before even going outside. He was already sick there wasn't anything you or anyone else could have don't to prevent it. Let me tell you something, okay?  
  
"O-o-okay," Kira sniffed.  
  
"My dad died when I was eight." Kira started to voice how sorry she was but Lily shushed her, "No, just let me talk. He died from cancer which is much more common in muggles than it is in witches and wizards, though I know it can occur in them as well. Anyway, I was convinced that I was the reason my dad had died. You see, when I was in kindergarten he and I had been playing together outside and he had fallen. He ended up not being able to get up and we had to take him to the ER. It was shortly after that that the results came back with the fact that he had cancer. I thought I was the reason he had gotten it because I was what had caused him to fall. I thought that if I hadn't made him fall he wouldn't have gotten cancer so I blamed myself for his death for three years. But I know now that he was sick. He wasn't sick from falling because he had been sick before that. No one could have prevented the inevitable. Same as with your brother. My dad wasn't my fault and your brother wasn't yours. No matter what anybody says, you have to understand that is the truth, okay?  
  
Kira nodded. Both of the girls were crying now. After a while they just sat there. Each in their own thoughts. Neither one made any indication that they wanted dinner and they both just sat there, lost in their thoughts until well past 10 when their other dorm mates started coming back upstairs to go to bed.  
  
"There you two are! We've been looking all around why didn't you come to dinner?  
  
"Oh, sorry, Lizzy, we just kind of got lost in our heads. Besides we weren't very hungry.  
  
"Okay, whatever, but you both look beat. You should get some sleep.  
  
Lily and Kira both agreed and got themselves ready for bed. After she was ready, Lily slipped into her bed and drew the curtains around her. Then she pulled out her Diary and began to write:  
  
I told Kira about Daddy. Well, not entirely. I left out a ton. But I   
had to tell her something. She told me about her brother and how she   
thought it was her fault he had died. I had to tell her that it wasn't and   
she wouldn't have believed me unless I told her about Daddy. But I   
didn't tell her about how I was the only one with him when he died. Or   
how I got cancer, too. Or how I should have died with my cancer even   
though Mummy told me that wasn't true. I'm glad Kira and I are best   
friends. I know now that my life really isn't all that bad. I mean other   
kids have to go through the same stuff and even worse. I need to be   
less self centered. Anyway, I'm glad we could share that secret of   
ours. I know I have others and maybe in time I'll share those too, but   
not yet. Anyway, I'm going to try to stay awake all night tonight. That   
dream I wrote about just won't go away. I'm not sure I can live with it   
much longer. I have to try to not have it and not sleeping is the only   
way to go about doing that. So I will probably just go study some   
more now.   
  
Much Love,  
Lily  
  
Lily re-locked her Diary and put it away once again. Then she pulled out her transfiguration book and began to study, hoping and praying not to fall asleep or if she did to at least not have that dream, no nightmare, again.  
  
Sorry it took so long to update...I was in Europe. Anyway here is another chapter before I leave town again...maybe I will write one more before I leave but don't count on it. Anyway I'll post again for sure after I get home. Until then...REVIEW!!!!!!!!! Thanks 


	8. Sleepless

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story aren't mine...they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
Chapter Eight: Sleepless  
  
It had officially been a week since Lily had slept. She honestly didn't know how she was doing it. She knew that she kept herself occupied for hours on end doing all her homework the night it was assigned and always going overboard. Also she knew that she was doing extra work for each of her classes. She was sure that her weak sleepless potion was helping as well, but still, she didn't know how anyone could go a week without sleeping.   
  
Kira noticed that Lily looked warn down. She knew that Lily stayed up much later than everyone else and that she always woke up the earliest. There was only one way to find out what was wrong.  
  
"Lily! Lily! LILY!"   
  
"What??" asked Lily peeved from lack of sleep and from the constant interruption in her study time.  
  
"Come on! I need to talk to you. Now!" Kira marched her friend up into their empty dorm room and sat her on her bed. "Lily, what's wrong with you? You work too hard. God you're only eleven! Don't you ever sleep?"   
  
"Of course I sleep, everyone sleeps," Lily snapped, not looking at her friend, "besides, I'm fine. And what does it matter anyway how old I am? Some people learn to see what's important earlier in life than others!"   
  
"Lily, NO DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU LATELY BUT I THINK YOU NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF! YOU'RE FALLING APART. GOD LILY DON'T WALK OUT THAT DOOR! LILY! LILY!" But it was no use, Lily had left not caring to hear what her best friend was saying. "Fine then. I'll see for myself if she sleeps or not. I don't care what it takes, I am going to crack the mystery of Lily Evans."   
  
That night Kira stayed up as long as she could in the common room. Everyone else had long since gone up to bed and there was nothing left for her to work on. It was already well past one and Lily still wasn't making any sign of going to bed soon. Kira finally decided she would feign sleep and headed up to bed as well. She had wanted to say something to Lily, but she knew it wouldn't be worth it as they weren't talking anyway.  
  
Kira looked at her watch again. "3:34:52" She gave a start as she heard the door creak open. Leaving her curtains drawn so Lily couldn't see her she moved as quietly as a mouse towards the edge of her bed so she could make out something of what was going on near Lily. Kira saw Lily's light go on and could very vaguely, through the two curtains and the darkness, make out Lily's shadow moving around on her bed. She watched as Lily sat in her bed obviously writing. ÔBut she's already finished all her homework....maybe Lily keeps a diary!' Kira stayed up the entire night. An hour or so after Lily had come upstairs she had been able to hear faint crying. Around 5:30 Kira watched Lily get out of bed and head into the bathroom for her shower.   
  
Kira got up as well-no use trying to sleep now. ÔWell, at least I know now that Lily does not sleep.'   
  
Lily and Kira were both extremely quiet at breakfast. James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Cece, Hannah, Jill, Lizzy, Mandy and Emily had all heard Kira shouting at Lily the day before, they all assumed that the two were just angry.  
  
Lily stole a glance at her best friend about halfway through breakfast. Kira looked terrible. She had huge bags under her eyes and she was unusually pale. Lily knew Kira hadn't slept the night before because of three things. One, that was exactly how she had looked after the first night she had gone without sleep-before she had discovered that the charms book from the library held the secret to making her look refreshed. Two, because she knew Kira pretty well by know and she knew that her best friend didn't believe her when she had said that she did sleep-she wasn't a pro with that charm, she was only a first year-and Lily knew Kira would have stayed up to see if she went to sleep. She had known that the night before and had considered sleeping-but she couldn't risk a nightmare. Then she thought she might fake it, but she also knew that she was exhausted and would fall asleep without meaning to. Three, she knew that their "fight" had bothered Kira and that even if the first two weren't true-Kira would have had a hard time sleeping after that.   
  
Lily knew she wouldn't be able to avoid Kira for long-but she was determined to try as much as possible.  
  
Lily spent the majority of the next two weeks with anyone but Kira. If Kira approached she would try to leave. Lily still wasn't sleeping but she still couldn't stop thinking about the nightmares. She had dozed off a few times and each time she did she woke in a cold sweat after having had the nightmare again. She was quickly wearing down and her after the next two weeks her other friends had begun noticing as well.   
  
One night everyone decided to stay up extra late-it was a Friday and they wanted to have some fun. Lily decided she might have more luck avoiding everyone's questions if she went up to her dorm to ignore sleep. How wrong she was.  
  
Kira noticed Lily quietly sneak up the stairs, no one else did. "Well, I'm gunna go to bed then. ÔNight," she announced as she got up and followed Lily's path to their dormitory. When she opened the door she heard muffled sobs. "Lily," whispered Kira exasperatedly. "Lily, I know you're mad at me but can I at least be a shoulder for you to cry on? It sounds like you need it..." Kira said softly as she pushed Lily's curtains back to reveal a very thin shaking child, for that's what Lily truly was, with flaming red hair curled into a ball shaking with sobs.  
  
Lily let off a small sound of some sort that Kira couldn't identify. It was something between a scream, a sob, a groan, and a noise of defeat.  
  
"Lily." Kira looked at her friend as if seeing her for the first time in three weeks. The lively redheaded preteen she had known for a short two months was long since gone. Instead there sat a defeated, frightened, weak, and exhausted child. Kira didn't know what else to do. The realization of what Lily had become scared her too much for her to be able to think clearly. She did the only thing that came to mind. She sat down and wrapped her arms around Lily and held her.  
  
At first Lily flinched at the touch of someone else on her thoughts of Nik racing through her mind. But the touch was more like something her mother would do something filled with love and worry. Lily finally realized that Kira had come into the room and was holding her trying to comfort her. She readjusted and hugged her friend back so her head was on Kira's shoulder as she continued to cry.  
  
They sat like that for half an hour. Kira stroked Lily's hair and muttered things in her ear like "hush" and "shhh" and "I'm here for you." Kira never once asked what was wrong. She wanted to, but she couldn't, she just didn't have the heart to ask.  
  
Lily finally pulled away and dried her eyes. Then in a small and cracking voice she said, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to cry all over you like that...I'm so sooo very sorry..."   
  
"Lily, its not a problem. Lily, did you hear me? I don't mind that's what best friends are for."   
  
Lily gave a weak smile.  
  
"Lily," Kira said sternly, "I'm not going to let you get out of answering this. I know you don't sleep hardly ever-at least not in the last three weeks. Why not?  
  
The small redhead was so exhausted she barely managed to say, "Nightmares," before falling backwards onto her bed.   
  
She had originally passed out. Kira was about to run for help when Lily finally turned over having passed into sleep. So instead, Kira went to sit on her own bed and wonder what nightmares could be so bad they would make an eleven year old decide not to sleep at all...  
  
It was about 20 minutes later that Lily started to shake violently. She began tossing and turning with strength that Kira knew she didn't have. Occasionally she would mutter or groan letting words like "no", "please", and "stop" pass through her mouth filled with fear beyond the like that Kira could ever know.   
  
Kira had run to Lily after calling her name a few times. She began shaking her-desperate to get her to wake up. But it seemed the harder she tried the worse the nightmare became and the less likely Lily seemed to be towards waking up. Kira began to cry and started pleading, "Come on, Lily! Y-you have t-t-to wake up. Lily! Lily! WAKE UP! Please! Oh Lily, I'm sooooo sorry I haven't been there for you....just please...wake up..." Kira knew she wouldn't be able to wake Lily up. Suddenly, after maybe ten minutes of thrashing Lily stopped moving. Kira's eyes grew wide. She couldn't hear Lily breathing. She didn't wait any longer. She ran down to the common room.  
  
The common room was empty except for all the other first years. Kira just realized she was crying. "James! James!  
  
"Are you okay, Kira?" asked Hannah, her voice full of concern.  
  
Kira didn't seem to hear her. She didn't hear James ask what was wrong either. But somehow she managed to say "Lily...  
  
James stood up and walked over to her, no one else knew where Lily was or what happened. They didn't even know that she hadn't slept in three weeks. James grabbed a hold of Kira's upper arms very firmly. "Kira, what happened? Where's Lily? What's wrong? Kira you need to talk to me.  
  
Kira just opened her mouth and closed it-no sound coming out.  
  
James shook her a little. "KIRA! Snap out of it! You need to calm down you need to tell me what's happened!  
  
Kira gave a small nod. She had stopped crying and was in a state of shock. In a soft voice that James, who was a foot away from her could barely hear she said, "Dorm room...nightmares...shaking...thrashing...not breathing...  
  
"Oh God!" James said in an equally quiet voice. "N-n-no-no-not d-d-dea-dead, is s-s-sh-she?  
  
Kira's eyes just grew wide. James snapped. "Sirius, Remus, everyone go get McGonagall. I don't care what it takes tell her it's and emergency and she has to get to the common room right away. Wait, Cece and Hannah stay her and help Kira.  
  
Everyone was worried and stunned and confused but they all did what James told them.   
  
James already knew-from experience-that the girls stairs would turn into a slide if he tried to go up them. Thinking quickly, he realized that the first years girls' dorm was on the same level as the boys'. He also knew there was a ledge that went around the tower just under his window. It wasn't very wide but it would have to do.  
  
James raced up the stairs to the boys dorm and threw the window open. He pulled his wand out and climbed out the window and quickly and carefully as he could. There was barely enough room for his feet of the small ledge. Holding on to the uneven rock protruding from the tower he moved his way over until he came to another window-about halfway around the tower. he jabbed his wand at the window and heard it shatter. He then mustered his strength and pulled himself into the room trying not to look down.   
  
James fell through the window onto the hard stone floor. His head began throbbing and his hands had blood all over them from the jagged edges of the broken windowsill. James didn't bother to fix it as he raced over to the small figure sprawled across one of the beds.   
  
Lily.  
  
She was pale and gaunt. Why hadn't he realized how sick she looked? She was thin too.   
  
He listened for signs of breathing but there were none. James grabbed her wrist and felt for a rhythm. After a bit he felt one-faint and irregular, but there none the less. She wasn't dead. At least, not yet. "Don't think like that, James!" he yelled at himself. "Okay, what to do what to do..." James remembered a muggle book he had read once that had talked about someone who had stopped breathing. What was it they did to force air into them? "Think, James, think...oh yes! Mouth to mouth..." James didn't stop to think about it. He took in a deep breath and bent over Lily. He opened her mouth and breathed into it. Again he did this.   
  
No luck.  
  
He grasped his wand again and pointed it at her. "Enervate!" he shouted remembering what Lily herself had told him-how Ôenervate' was the spell used to wake someone who had been stunned or passed out or something.   
  
Nothing happened.   
  
From below James could hear someone older, much older, inquiring what was going on. Asking what the emergency was. He grabbed Lily so her head was over one arm and her feet over the other. Then he stepped into the hallway and leaned back. The stairs turned into a slide and he held Lily close to him to protect her and the two flew down the steps. McGonagall looked shocked when she saw the petite redhead in the arms of James Potter. "Mr. Potter, explain how you got up there! And what the heavens happened to Miss Evans?  
  
"I dunno, Professor. But she needs help. She," James stopped and looked around he didn't want to scare everyone. He saw the state Kira was in-she wasn't any better, Cece and Hannah hadn't been able to help her in the slightest. Everyone was already so scared. James gulped and said in a barely audible whisper, "she's not breathing...  
  
McGonagall had noticed how quietly he had said it and how he had looked around at everyone else. She nodded and said, rather sternly, "I need you to help me get her to the Hospital wing. Miss Carrins, Miss Green will you please escort Miss Beckavar to the Hospital wing as well?"   
  
The girls nodded, their eyes as wide as dinner plates. Hannah had tears streaming down her face.  
  
The professor and the five students made their way as quickly as possible to the Hospital wing. McGonagall and James were flat out running. James was still carrying Lily-magical stretched couldn't move as fast and they need to go fast. Hannah and Cece fell way behind-helping Kira at a much slower pace.   
  
Madame Pomfrey gave a start when she saw James holding Lily. She pointed to a bed and had a quick word with McGonagall as James put Lily gently on the bed.   
  
"James what happened?" asked Madame Pomfrey.  
  
"I'm not sure. Kira came downstairs crying and shouting my name. The only other thing she said was Lily. I finally got her to tell me what happened but all she said was Ôdorm room...nightmares...shaking...thrashing...not breathing...' I went up there and tried to get her to breathe. I tried mouth to mouth and enervate, but she didn't stir. Then I heard Professor McGonagall so I took Lily downstairs to her.  
  
Madame Pomfrey began scurrying around trying to revive Lily. After about ten minutes, the other three girls walked in and waited until Madame Pomfrey had done everything she could. Well, no, Cece and Hannah waited, but Kira just sat there in a pure shock, no longer aware of where she was or what happened.   
  
Well there's another chapter. Thanks for the reviews...keep reviewing :-P  
  
Sorry about the cliff hanger...I just had to...hopefully there will be another chapter up soon...but please review! 


	9. Uncertainty

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story aren't mine...they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
Chapter Nine: Uncertainty  
  
The first year Gryffindors spent the next five days worried to death about their friend. No one fully knew what had happened. Kira knew the most, followed by James, everyone else fell way behind knowing only that something terrible had happened and Lily wasn't waking up from it. Even Madame Pomfrey didn't understand.  
  
The day after Lily and Kira had been brought in, Kira had almost had a break down as she let everything spill to the nurse, knowing that she had to tell for Lily's safety, but at the same time feeling like a terrible friend. She told Madame Pomfrey about how Lily hadn't slept in three weeks and how she had suspicions that her friend wasn't really eating either. She said that as far as she knew Lily was having some terrible nightmares. She even told the nurse how badly she felt for getting into a fight with her best friend when things were so obviously wrong for her.  
  
"It's all right, dear. You didn't know better. Don't worry, now. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that she is okay. You hear me?" The nurse had said to the frightened girl. Kira had nodded and wiped her face. She had then spent the remainder of the next five days fretting about Lily with their friends.  
  
They would all go visit her at every possible chance. Sometimes only one or two of them would be able to go.  
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
In the fourth week of Lily's unconsciousness, during the lunch hour, Kira and James had gone down to visit their friend. James was grasping Lily's hand and Kira was sobbing into her own hands, remember the conversation that had happen just moments before:  
  
"Madame Pomfrey! How is she? Is she any better?"   
  
"I'm sorry, dear, there has been no change at all."   
  
"Well, can we at least visit her?"   
  
"You were all in here this morning! The poor child needs some space!"   
  
"Yes, b-b-but you don't really think she'll get better if she doesn't have the proper support from her friends do you?  
  
"All right, Mr. Potter. You two may have fifteen minutes. But that's it!  
  
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey!" James had then run into to see Lily. Kira was a bit more hesitant.  
  
"Excuse me, Madame Pomfrey, but I was just wondering.....how long do you think it will be before she wakes up?"   
  
At the question Madame Pomfrey had stared off into space and reluctantly said, "I don't know, I just don't know."   
  
"Madame Pomfrey. What's wrong with her?"   
  
The matron looked at Kira and then pushed her in without answering her last question. "Go on now, I'm only allowing you fifteen minutes to visit you friend." Madame Pomfrey had walked off but Kira heard what she had muttered to herself, "I wish I knew..."   
  
"Bloody hell! Lily! Lily can you hear me?"   
  
"What? James, what is it? Is she..."   
  
"I dunno. I dunno but she squeezed back!"   
  
"What?"   
  
"Lily. I squeezed her hand again and this time she actually squeezed back!"   
  
Kira ignored the fact that James had been squeezing Lily's hand. It wasn't something that needed to be dealt with right now. Instead she jumped up and ran to the nurse's office. "Madame Pomfrey, Madame Pomfrey come quick!"   
  
When the matron had reached Lily's bed, James was leaning over the girl, stroking her hair out of her face and holding desperately onto her hand. "Well?" she inquired hastily, "what's wrong?"   
  
"Lily she," James took a deep breath, "she squeezed my hand!  
  
The nurse tried to hold her glee. "Out! Out! I have a patient to tend to! And thank you, for letting me know," she said the last part in an undertone as they walked out the door, but they both heard her. Neither had been so happy to be kicked out of the Hospital wing before.  
  
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Over the next two weeks or so Lily made more and more improvements, very slowly but at least she was improving. She would squeeze people's hands or twitch a finger once her eyes even fluttered-they didn't open but Madame Pomfrey said that was a very, very good sign.  
  
Lily's eyes fluttered. They opened and then shut right away from the blinding light. After a few seconds they opened again, a little more timidly. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she took a look around the room. ÔThe Hospital wing. I should have guessed. One of the girls probably heard me having the nightmare and couldn't wake me up or something. They must have really freaked to have taken me down here...' Lily sat up a little more, wincing at the dull pain throughout her body, ÔWhat happened to me?'   
  
Lily slumped back down on the bed. She was alone. She lay there for the next few minutes wondering how long she had been out and what had happened. How had she gotten there. Her eyes grew wide with horror as one last thought filled her mind before her tired body forced her back into sleep ÔDid Nik know?  
  
Lily was shaken awake about twenty minutes later. Once again she was covered in a cold sweat. As she looked around, scared out of her mind, she realized she was squeezing someone's hand a little too tightly. Finally everything registered. She was surrounded by all her friends and Kira had been the one shaking her. Poor James had a look of agony on his face as he tried to pry his hand away with hurting her physically or emotionally. Lily loosened her grip and dropped his hand.   
  
"What happened last night?" she asked her gaze directed at Kira.  
  
"Last night?" scoffed Sirius, throwing emphasis on the Ôlast'.   
  
Lily looked from one friend's face to the next her eyes growing wider.  
  
"Lily, y-y-you-," Hannah tried to explain.  
  
"What day is it?"   
  
"Monday," Cece said quietly.  
  
Lily again looked at Sirius and then said, "Yeah, what happened last night?"   
  
"Lily," Jill explained solemnly, "you've been out of it for weeks."   
  
Lily tried to sit up but was overcome with a bout of dizziness and nausea. She slumped back on the pillows, swallowing hard. "H-how many weeks?" Lily asked drawing the question out in her confusion and terror.  
  
"Six," Remus said quietly, almost inaudibly, but Lily, and everyone else, still heard him.  
  
Lily began to cry very softly. Kira leaned over her and gave her a great big hug. Soon all the girls had piled on top of Lily's bed and were smothering her in embraces. Lily finally gave a weak smile, that grew ever so slightly when she noticed how uncomfortable the guys were feeling.  
  
It wasn't more than a minute later that Pomfrey came in and kicked everyone out yelling at them for not telling her that her patient was awake.  
  
"Oh, I'm on to you, Poppy," Sirius said slyly. "I know that you're just as happy as all of us. In fact, the only reason that you are really kicking us out is so that you can have Lily all to yourself. Shame on you! Keeping the gem away from her friends!  
  
"OUT NOW, BLACK!" she screamed in retaliation.  
  
The eleven first years couldn't help but smile as it dawned on them that their friend was okay. Too hastily did they make this realization.  
  
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All right well the sooner you review the sooner I'll post more...I'm evil :-D 


	10. Special Cirumstances

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story aren't mine...they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
Chapter Ten: Special Circumstances  
  
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The next morning Lily woke to find seven girls huddled around her bed. She smiled and couldn't help but think about how nice it was to have friends who cared about her again. She had just never felt the same with her other friends after they had abandoned her when her dad died and when she was sick.  
  
Hannah gave a squeal, "She's awake!"   
  
"Lily," Kira began but was cut off as Madame Pomfrey came over.  
  
"OUT! ALL OF YOU! I have a patient to tend to, out, out, OUT!"   
  
The girls all reluctantly left, except Kira.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey, I know that you like to have your space when you are taking care of a patient, but Lily is my best friend. She woke up yesterday from being in a coma for six weeks and she needs all her friends to be here for her now. She needs her family, and since her family isn't allowed at Hogwarts because they aren't magical, she gets the next best thing, the family she chose for herself, her friends, me. I don't care what you say because I'm going to stay right here and hold my best friend's hand as you do whatever it is you have to do to her to make her better. And...and...I don't care if...if...if I get expelled! I'm not going to leave!"   
  
Madame Pomfrey looked at Kira then sighed. She turned to Lily, "You have friend's that truly care about you, Miss Evans." She paused while pulling out a vile of deep red potion. "You're going to need to drink this..."   
  
Lily nodded weakly looking at the vile. She tried to swallow but didn't have much luck. Slowly she reached out her thin, exhausted arm and took the goblet of potion from Madame Pomfrey.   
  
It bubbled.  
  
Lily paled but brought the goblet to her lips. She took a sip but immediately realized how much of a mistake that was. Her body wasn't used to eating or drinking and it responded violently to the potion. Before she realized what had happened, Lily was throwing up nutrients she didn't have into a bed pan that Madame Pomfrey had just barely managed to get in front of her.   
  
Lily began to cry. Kira squeezed her hand reassuringly and whispered to her, "Lily, its gunna be okay. You'll pull out of this, you'll be okay. You hear me? You'll be okay." It almost was more of a demand than reassurement.   
  
Lily nodded weakly and choked down her sobs. She looked around desperately and found a pitcher of water. Her eyes grew wide, "W-w-w-wa-wa-  
  
Kira held up her hand and followed Lily's gaze. "You want some water?" Nod. "All right, here let me help you."   
  
Kira poured a glass of water and helped Lily bring it to her mouth. Lily manage to drink three sips before her body once again rejected the addition of a new substance in the manner she was trying to get it. Once again she began vomiting forcefully into the bedpan. She began crying again. This time much harder than before. Kira continued giving her a hand to hold onto and began rubbing her back, but didn't say anything else.  
  
Madame Pomfrey looked bewildered and horrified by what was happening. She injected some of the potion directly into Lily's blood stream-like she had had to do while Lily was in a coma. Then she quickly hurried off.  
  
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"Albus, I just don't know what to do! The poor child can't handle water, how am I supposed to help her recover? She needs St. Mungo's, Albus. She needs someone with better training than I have. She needs to be able to receive the comfort of her mother."   
  
Dumbledore nodded slowly. He thought for a few minutes then said, "Continue doing what you can for her, Poppy. I'll go to St. Mungo's after lunch and bring back a specialized Healer with me to aid you. As for her parents, well, muggles have been brought to Hogwarts before, under special circumstances, and I think this qualifies as such. I will arrange for her parents to be brought here."   
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
Kira was excused from classes that day.   
  
Right before dinner, James came running in and turned to Kira, "Why don't you go eat. I'll stay here with Lily."   
  
"But James, you need to eat too, I don't mind staying."   
  
Neither of them had noticed that Lily had woken up. She spoke her opinion, anyway, "Why don't you both go, I'm not going anywhere and I'll be okay here by myself for a while."   
  
At this statement, James looked totally horrified. "Stay? Here? Alone? I WON'T HEAR OF SUCH A THING! And to think, I treat you as an equal..."   
  
Kira looked at Lily and the two girls both erupted into a fit of giggles. Lily ignored her wheezing, she could tell it wasn't going to get worse and she wasn't even sure if she had her inhaler with her.  
  
James smiled at the two laughing girls. "Seriously, though, I went down to the kitchens with Remus and Peter and The High Joker and I'm not hungry anymore, so I would take great pleasure in staying with the fair princess while her lovely lady in waiting gets some scrumptious provisions."   
  
The two girls giggled again and Kira said, "Well, I shall leave said fair princess with the most lovely prince and retire to the dinning hall for some said scrumptious provisions."   
  
"But my most wonderful lady in waiting! Whatever are you thinking to leave me, a fair princess, alone with such a prince!"   
  
"Ta!" Kira replied with a smile over her shoulder from the doorway.  
  
"So Sirius is the High Joker, now is he?" Lily asked turning to James.  
  
James looked at her with a scandalized look and said, "Well of course he is? Don't you know the way he acts?"   
  
Lily sighed and her eyes filled with unshed tears.  
  
"Oh, Lily, I didn't....I....I'm sorry. Hey, please don't cry." James grabbed her hand and gave her a dazzling smile.  
  
She smiled faintly back.   
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Just as James was about to say something, the door to the infirmary swung open.  
  
"Lily?" asked a woman with dark brown wavy hair. She looked around frightened until she spotted a girl in with curly red hair in a bed with a black haired boy next to her. "LILY!"   
  
Lily looked up and studied the woman for a brief moment before squealing, "Mum! Mum, how...why...but you're a mug...but mum!"   
  
"Oh sweet heart! Are you all right? Your headmaster came to see us and told us that there had been an accident and that you had just woken up and that they thought we should come under special circumstances to the school. I was so worried when I didn't get any letters from you after mid-November. And then you didn't come home for the holidays and we were so upset that you hadn't even told us why!"   
  
"Mum, I'm so sorry! I-"   
  
"Oh, don't worry about it, the important thing is that you're okay now."   
  
Lily's mum engulfed her in a huge hug. Lily made a very quiet whimper due to the amount of energy it took her to give her mum a hug, James was the only person who heard it.   
  
"Lily, maybe I...well you know, I should...I think I need to...I'm...I'm gunna go, okay? I'll see you later, then..."   
  
"Thank you, James," Lily whispered with a smile, a genuine smile that made her eyes twinkle. She looked past James and the sparkle in her eyes immediately died.   
  
James gave her a questioning look, but didn't say anything. Instead he turned around and walked out of the Hospital Wing, and as he left he turned to the man who had just walked in, the man that had caused the fear in Lily's eyes.   
  
The man walked over to Lily and her mother and James turned one last time to them and watched as the man sat down with his arms wrapped around Lily's mum's waist. Just before James walked out, he saw the man lean down and kiss Lily's forehead.  
  
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Mwahahahahahahahahahaha  
  
Review.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or no more story.... 


	11. Major Events

Disclaimer: All the characters and all the good stuff in the story aren't mine... they belong to J. K. Rowling and I have no intention of stealing them.  
  
Chapter Eleven: Major Events  
  
Lily cringed as Nik leaned down, she was sure he was going to force a kiss on her. But no, instead he kissed her forehead and said, "How are you feeling, Angel?"   
  
Lily didn't understand, Ôshouldn't he be mad that I didn't go home over break? Wouldn't he be mad for me being alive? Oh how I want to tell everything to mum. MUM! Of course! He wouldn't say anything cause mum is there! Oh thank the Lord for mum.' Lily gave a weak smile, "I'm feeling better actually."   
  
Margie and Nik stayed right by Lily's side for the rest of the night. Margie fussed over Lily all night long, even though most of the time Lily was asleep and it really didn't make any difference in the slightest.  
  
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The next morning, Lily awoke to find someone she had never seen before leaning over her. She looked around quickly and saw her mum and Nik in the chairs next to her bed. Nik was awake and her mum seemed to be asleep on his shoulder. On her other side, Lily saw Madame Pomfrey cowering behind the unknown woman.  
  
Mustering her courage and her strength Lily finally asked, "I'm sorry, but who are you?"   
  
"Oh of course, dear child, I'm a Healer from St. Mungo's. Professor Dumbledore asked me to come and help you get better. A fully trained healer can do much more than a school nurse of course, no offense, Poppy."   
  
Madame Pomfrey just shook her head.  
  
"Of course, dear, you can call me by my first name."   
  
"Oh, er, ok, I-I'm sorry but I didn't catch what that was..."   
  
"Of course, dear. Raphaella."   
  
"Oh, that's really pretty."   
  
"Thank you dear, but I am going to have to ask you to be silent just for a while as I do a thorough exam of you..."   
  
Lily nodded meekly and stayed silent as Raphaella poked and prodded her and performed a few various revealing type charms to see what she could find. At one point Raphaella even made her drink a potion just to see out her body would react to it. Lily was not a happy camper. During the course of the examination, Lily's mother woke up and Nik decided to step outside to get some air. Lily was delighted that he left, but no one could really tell since he did so just as Raphaella made Lily drink the potion. This meant that instead of smiling because Nik was leaving, she was throwing up into a bed pan.  
  
"Oh sweet heart! Are you all right? Was that completely necessary?"   
  
"Yes, ma'am, I'm sorry but it was. I need to know exactly what's wrong with your daughter." Raphaella then turned to Lily, "I'm sorry dear, we're all done for now. I'm going to put a potion into your system and it's going to make you sleepy okay?"   
  
Again Lily just nodded, she had silent tears streaming down her face. After a minute, as Raphaella prepared the potion in the correct way so that Lily wouldn't have to swallow it, Lily asked the question on everyone's mind, and the one whose answer she was half afraid to hear, "I'm I going to be okay?"   
  
Raphaella looked at Lily. She didn't just glance at the girl she really looked at her, studied her. She looked directly into Lily's eyes and could see the fear and apprehension, the confusion and worry, but most of all she could see acceptance. She could see that the small eleven year old in front of her was prepared to die and was going to accept it right away if that was her fate. She gave a small smile, without breaking eye contact and said, "Yes, you're going to be okay, Lily dear. You're going to be okay."   
  
"Okay.... Raphaella...?"   
  
"Yes dear?"   
  
"Is it bad for me to be afraid?"   
  
"Of course not! I'll tell you a secret... I get scared all the time!"   
  
"Really?"   
  
Raphaella nodded. Lily gave a small smile and grabbed a hold of her mum's hand. She squeezed it hard as Raphaella gave her the potion. Margie held tightly onto Lily's hand comforting her, even after she had felt the small hand in her own go lax from unconsciousness.  
  
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A few major things happened that day as Lily slept.  
  
Raphaella returned to St. Mungo's with the results from her exam of Lily. As soon as she returned to St. Mungo's she sought out the best Healer there to question her. The meeting they had was brief and when Raphaella returned she had a long meeting with Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey...  
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
At the same time, in another area of the castle, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked in on a conversation that would have been better off not heard by them...  
  
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In yet another part of the castle, two outsiders were about to have an argument that would come back to haunt not only them, but a few students in the castle as well...  
  
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"My superiors tell me that the sort of reaction that young Miss Evans had to her nightmares is very rare. They said that in order to have as severe of a reaction as it did on Miss Evans then the nightmare could only have been either a premonition or a memory. And that whatever it was about had to be vivid and instill tremendous fear inside the dreamer."   
  
"Miss Evans is not going to break down and reveal what it was she saw in her nightmare. I've tried getting her to many times. It's not going to happen."   
  
"Then there is only one thing we can do. Nurse her back to heath and give her a potion to take every night so she doesn't have the nightmare any longer."   
  
All through the meeting Dumbledore sat calmly pondering what he was being told. He had his hands along his face so that a few of his fingers were resting on his nose, a few on his cheeks and a few weren't on anything. He watched the other two from over the top of his half moon glasses while absorbing the information and trying to decide how best to help his student.  
  
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There were no classes that afternoon so the four boys had decided to get to know the castle a little better. As they walked down the hall, Peter decided to check out an unusual passage on the left. The others had waited outside, just in case.  
  
All of the sudden, Peter came running back stuttering about there being people down there.  
  
Sirius' eyes lit up at the thought of eavesdropping. The three other boys followed a frightened Peter down the passageway until they could hear voices.  
  
"...it's just not fair. She's a dumb Mudblood!"   
  
"Calm your bloody self down! Don't worry. If we're lucky she will be forced to fail first year. How much of an idiot would she look like then?"   
  
"But I hear she's getting better. I hear that she'll be out soon. What do we do if she does get out?"   
  
"We'll get rid of her. She's a hazard and there will be no problem with torturing her until she is too scared to stay. She'll be running back to the damn muggle world soon enough."   
  
James looked at Sirius, they were thinking the same thing... whoever it was had to be talking about Lily. And by the sound of things if she did get better, they would be torturing her.  
  
James talked in a hurried whisper, "We have to let them know now that we aren't going to let it happen! We have to stand up for her!"   
  
"James," began Remus in a voice of reason, "it won't do her any good if we all just end up in the hospital wing with her." Remus grabbed James' sleeve, but he jerked his arm out of Remus' grasp, drew his wand and ran into the room.  
  
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Margie finally realized that Nik had been gone for a length of time. She vaguely remembered him talking about getting some air, so she decided to go after him.  
  
Outside on the grounds, Margie could see a man wearing muggle clothes out by the lake.  
  
"Nik, honey, it's cold out here, why don't you come back inside with me and Lily?" asked Margie worriedly.  
  
"I don't want to go back in that bloody place."   
  
"Why in heavens not?"   
  
"Don't you feel it?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"That place, the way it makes you feel. The sensations of watching people actually do things that aren't... normal. Watching someone wave a stick and then having something move in response, all of its own record. It not bloody normal!"   
  
"Nik, I don't understand. You've always wanted to be there for Lily before. Why not now? Why does being there for Lily in the magical world have such a negative connotation?"   
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
Sirius, Remus, and Peter all stood there stunned for a moment before they too rushed into the room with their wands drawn.   
  
"What's the meaning of this Malfoy?"   
  
"Wouldn't you like to know, Potter."   
  
"I know who you were talking about and let me tell you, you won't get away with doing anything to her."   
  
What do you think you're going to do? Challenge me to a duel?" sneered Malfoy in disgust.  
  
"Actually, I think I will-"   
  
"James, are you bloody insane? Malfoy's a fifth year! FIFTH YEAR! He'll tear you to bits," Remus tried to reason.  
  
"Remus, if I don't take care of this now, what do you think he's gunna do to her? And what about our other friends... he's not going to stop with one bloody muggle born, he's gunna go after all of them in the school. I don't care what happens, I'm doing it." Then James said in a louder voice, "Tomorrow night, midnight, in the trophy room. Sirius is my second."   
  
"Snape is mine. Be prepared, Potter. I'm not going to give you an easy time of it just cause you're a dumb first year."   
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
"I just don't like this magic thing! I'm afraid of what it will do to Lily!" Nik claimed, and while he spoke the truth, Margie didn't know what he really meant.  
  
"This is where she belongs! Magic is going to help her in more ways than one! And now, now she needs magic to heal her. And she needs us to be there for her while she gets better. So lets drop this for now and we can discuss it later. Because my little girl is in there and she needs her parents' love and support!" Margie walked back towards the castle willing to put aside the argument she had just had to help Lily in anyway possible.  
  
Nik waited a few minutes out by the lake. He was afraid of magic. He was scared that Lily would do something to him or learn how to keep him from finding out if she told or not. He was afraid she'd talk and he couldn't let that happen. And then he sneered, he had a plan in mind, a way to keep her well to frightened to say anything. And as the plan formed in his mind, he walked back towards the castle and back towards the lies he had to maintain.  
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
The next morning, Lily woke up with Raphaella standing over her. "Good morning dear. I'm going to do a series of spells on you and it might sting just a tad. But it is going to convince you're body that it's okay for you to swallow when you have fluids and from there you will be able to slowly advance to eating food as well. So shall we begin?"   
  
Lily nodded slowly and grasped for her mother's hand. When she found it she squeezed it as hard as she could and she did her best to keep from having tears form in her eyes.   
  
With a flick of her wave Raphaella said the incantations, "Solvo vestri mens. Teneo ut vos can voro. Liquidus adveho vestri somes es necessarius. Vos mos non reprobo lemma.  
  
Lily winced as the spell took effect. Her whole body glowed purple for a moment and then everything returned to normal. Lily felt as if she had just run a ten mile race. She was well too exhausted to even say anything to her worried mother.  
  
Raphaella handed her a potion and spoke very softly to her, "Lily, I need you to drink this. We need to find out if it worked and if it did, this potion will help you sleep without dreaming."   
  
Lily nodded and took the goblet and with help from Raphaella she managed to drink it. As soon as she had downed the liquid she fell back onto her bed and slept.  
  
Shortly after she fell back asleep, Kira and Cece came in to visit her. Raphaella told the girls what had happened earlier that morning. Kira had a puzzled look on her face, "But, Raphaella, I don't understand... What happened to Lily? Why did she end up in here unconscious for six weeks?"   
  
!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&&%$#!!#$%&  
  
Keep the reviews coming!! I am leaving town to go camping on Tuesday and I'll be gone for two weeks so there won't be any updates during that time, but I'll try and get at least one more chapter up before I leave. While I'm gone review a lot and I will post more when I get back! 


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